In the further processing of raw materials, which would represent a considerable health risk for the persons working with these materials in the event of direct contact therewith, increased cleanliness or absolutely contamination-free working has to be ensured in many branches of industry, for example the pharmaceutical or chemical industry.
There is in particular a risk of contamination to the working environment of persons and/or generally to the environment and/or of corresponding exposure of the persons themselves when the raw materials are present in the form of powder or granules. Such raw materials should be handled in appropriate containers. Use is made of containers comprising flexible receptacles or containers comprising stable frames that contain flexible receptacles. As flexible receptacles, use is made preferably of film tube sections from continuous receptacles, what are known as continuous liners, which are separated into sections depending on the portioning of the raw materials. They are available as individually filled receptacles to consumers, who use them further in a contamination-free manner.
The consumer connects such receptacles together in order to make raw materials contained therein available continuously to a method. This “connecting together” is what is known as docking. The connecting has to take place in an environmentally sealed manner, in order to avoid contamination to the environment.
In known devices, docking is still awkward to carry out against the background of contamination problems. Known devices for filling or emptying such receptacles are described in DE 10 2006 057 760 B3 or EP 1 702 866 A1.
Furthermore, what are known as peelable films, which can be welded firmly on the outer side and can be welded less firmly on the inner side, have been known for some time. Welding of such peelable inner sides can be released by pulling perpendicularly to the plane of the film without the walls of the film itself being damaged. Consequently, the walls remain environmentally sealed in the region of the released weld seam.
Thus, it is known for example that chip bags for potato chips can be opened in that a weld seam at one end of the chip bag can be released by pulling laterally and so the chip bag is opened cleanly at the top.
Consequently, it would be desirable to provide a cost-effective method for the environmentally sealed connection of two flexible receptacles, said method being easy to carry out and absolutely clean, in particular contamination-free.